the Sign of the Huntress
by kheleka
Summary: Samus Aran, as usual, has been hired as the Galactic Federation's babysitter, exterminating all threats. However, her ship goes down, and she meets up with someone who was sent by the Chozo...to spy on her. [Please just read it if you have the time...]
1. Chapter 1

Please, kind reader, keep in mind that I am a horrible writer and this is one of my first ever Metroid stories that I happened to continue one day. Comments are very much appreciated. :D And so…without further ado….

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Tear IX. Not an overly special world at all. On the very fringes of civilized space, it is a second home to many bounty hunters, mercenaries, assassins, and other shady beings on the run from law. Many parts of it are yet uninhabited, for many dangers prowl the surface of Tear IX, including several blue equine-creatures, which are quite obviously carnivores, and have not been documented on other planets, and have not been seen in environments outside of their native bogs on Tear IX.

And so, now I wonder why my ship decided to give out on me and crash-land on the surface of this mudball. Repairs, as I have heard from the native beings, might take over two of the rotations of Tear IX. Too long, but I have no alternatives. Repairs _must _be made, for without me, it seems the entire Galactic Federation will be overrun by Space Pirates. Ridiculous. I have become some kind of a baby sitter of the Federation. However, I guess I asked for it when I became a bounty hunter.

Sitting at the bar, I felt all of the beings in it keeping their eyes on me. I heaved a sigh, knowing that as soon as I removed my helmet, all the males would somehow gravitate towards this part of the bar. Well, I had had a rough day, and I deserved a good drink. Reaching up, I grasped my helmet and pulled it off, shaking my head so that my hair cascaded down my shoulders. I winced. I hated that effect; it just seemed to attract more males. Sure enough, the first idiot made his way towards me.

"Hello, miss. You sure are pretty. What's the likes of you doing on a planet like THIS?" He was a Yurni. I could tell by the green skin and reptilian eyes. Not replying, I gestured for the bartender.

"Whaddya want?" He growled, polishing a glass that nevertheless looked dirty.

"Whiskey, please." I grunted, not bothering to hide my disgust at the dirt that seemed to be attracted to the bar. The bartender threw the rag down on the counter and busied himself filling a glass.

"Hello? Miss? I asked you-" The Yurni persisted.

"I am aware that you asked me. I did not answer. So, tell me, if I was attracted to you in the least, would I be blankly staring ahead while you tried to make yourself known to me?" I growled, raising my arm cannon ever-so-slightly. The Yurni hightailed it back to his buddies.

"Samus? Samus Aran?" I heard a voice behind me, and whipped around, instinctively raising my arm cannon.

"Whoah! Easy, there!" The voice was definitely male, and I recognized it from somewhere. Eyeing the man up and down, I noticed that he was well-shaven, and also what I believe other females would call "handsome."

"Do I know you?" I said coldly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I think you do, if you're Samus Aran. I could recognize that power suit anywhere! But…I might be mistaken. So tell me…Are you Samus?"

"Yes. I am. And who are you?" Thoughts were tumbling through my mind. How did he know my name? And why did he seem so familiar? I worked alone. I knew that. So…Where did I know him from?

"Ah-hah! I knew it! I'm Kerlan. Remember me? We both worked under the same Commanding Officer. Adam? Was that his name? And then when he was killed…" A look of sadness came over his face, "You left, and then returned to become a bounty huntress. And I never saw you again."

"Oh…Kerlan…I _do _remember you! You were the one who thought I was a guy, and tried to invite me to sleep with you and your roommates, so I, of course, thought you were suggesting something inappropriate, and I beat you up!" I began laughing softly, remembering the look on his face when he found out I was not male. Kerlan grinned.

"Ah, so you do remember. And _how_ you beat me up! I can still feel it!" He was laughing now, as well. Then, quite suddenly, I stopped. He was startled, and he grew silent as well. I eyed him up and down, then gave a nonchalant shrug.

"How long have you been spying on me?" I growled softly. Kerlan's face blanched.

"How…how did you know?" He whispered, still startled at my knowledge.

"Call it bounty huntress instincts coupled with female intuition." I told him, throwing some money on the counter to pay for my unfinished drink, grabbing my helmet, and striding out the door. I still felt Kerlan's eyes, boring a hole into the back of my head.

.End of First Chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay. First off, thanks so much for reading this, Lemurian-Girl, and commenting, as well! Well, I have played Metroid: Zero Mission and I do believe that they are suggesting that Samus doesn't quite wear her power suit out in public. However, the story here is that Samus's ship went down on a planet full of mercenaries, bounty hunters, assassins, etc. I'd want to have protection at all times, and a weapon as well…wouldn't you? So that's why she decided to wear her power suit. It's not a very good explanation, but it explains it well enough for my purposes. :)

Disclaimer: How sad is it that nowadays we have to put DISCLAIMERS on our stories to keep people from suing us? How sad has this world gotten? Oh, well. Anyway, Metroid doesn't belong to me. And if you didn't guess that…you are…umm…special.

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I walked dejectedly through the rather boggy atmosphere of Tear IX, pondering the matter at hand. So Kerlan _had_ been spying on me. It had only been a wild guess on my part, but it had proven to be true. Why would the Galactic Federation send someone to spy on me? _Me_, of all people! I had no doubts that it was the G.F. who had arranged this. Suddenly, a thought sprang into my mind. I froze like those countless Metroids I had put into an icy tomb with my trusty arm cannon.

My ship. The sudden, inexplicable failure in the onboard computer was also, quite possibly, their doing. If so…Thoughts tumbled around in my head. Who would do this? Who in the Galactic Federation would want me…dead? Especially after I had saved them so many times? My mind cruised through various faces of those I knew, and then settled on one.

"Tykin." I mouthed his name. He wasn't quite a Galactic Federation member, per se, but he did have quite an influence on them. How? I wasn't sure myself. All I knew was that he had carried a grudge against me. Why? Again, my mind could not provide me with an answer.

"Samus…" The voice came from the general direction to my right, and I twirled toward it, instinctively placing one foot forward, the other back. I found myself staring into Kerlan's face. My face twisted from one expression to the next. I wanted to shoot him for foolishly following me after he knew that I knew he was spying on me, but I also had to admire him. "I just wanted to say," He continued, "That I _am _spying on you, but I am by no means working for the Galactic Federation."

I blinked. This was an unexpected twist.

"Then…who?" I found myself asking. Kerlan began to laugh. That startled me.

"Think, Samus. Who else would be interested in learning of your every move?"

This man was starting to really grate my nerves. He spoke to me as though I was a child.

"The Space Pirates?" I spat, taking two steps backward. My former fellow officer was still smiling, shaking his head.

"The Chozo." As he uttered those two words, I froze, the second time in a day.

"The…Chozo?" I whispered. Then, gathering my wits, I drew myself up to my full height. The power suit took care of the fact that I was shorter than the man was. "You must be lying."

"What? Of course I'm not lying!" The look on Kerlan's face was startled, as though it was outrageous that I had accused him of lying. I blinked. Something told me that he _was _telling the truth, but, as a bounty huntress, I had learned long ago to be mistrusting. I eyed him up and down.

"Will you talk with me, Samus Aran? Allow me to explain myself?" Upon his face was a perfectly sweet, innocent look. I found myself, against my will, thinking that it wouldn't be _that_ bad to talk with him. My mind felt groggy, and I started to nod. Then, I realized what has happening, and his mind-affecting power ceased to work on me.

"You worm!" I hissed, readying myself to shoot the idiot, "First, you spy on me, then you lie to me, and _then_ you try to trick me into following you into a trap!"

"Huh…what?" Kerlan said. The man was a genius.

"I _said_-"

"I know what you SAID. The thing is, I don't know what you're talking about."

Once again, I felt he was telling the truth. But how was I to know? "You…you tried to poison my mind." I said, a little less convinced. The look on his face swayed my judgment, and I decided it wouldn't be morally correct to shoot him if my Chozo father had sent him to me.

"Poison your mind, huh?" The look on his face was thoughtful. I found myself wondering what he was thinking. He glanced at me. "Will you allow me to prove myself? That I am working for the Chozo?" His eyes were pleading me to agree. I could not refuse. My curiosity was too great.

"Buy me a drink, and I'll think about it." I said, laughing. Kerlan nodded and walked back towards the bar. I followed.

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Sadly, this chapter didn't sound too much like Samus was talking. Oh, well. I still hope that people like it. And may I just say that reviews gladden my heart: Even – especially- constructive critique. Thanks so much for reading this! I'll give you a gold star if you review. Muahaha!


	3. Chapter 3

Woo-hoo! Look at this, I'm updating!

**Disclaimer**: Yeah, yeah. You know the drill. The blonde, blue-eyed, arm-cannon wielding heroine who is held dear in true gamers' hearts doesn't belong to me…And neither does anything else that is copyrighted to Nintendo.

**The Grey Fox**: Thanks very much! I'm glad you think that this story is worth keeping your eye on! Yes, you're correct. Well, partly. It's actually somewhere before Prime, or maybe even possibly after. I'm not really clear on that myself…and, that's funny, because I was under the impression that she _did _train to be a G.F. Trooper at one point…hmm…maybe I read something wrong? I should clarify that.

Thanks so much to the two other reviewers! And, without further ado…dum dum dummm…

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Kerlan held open the door for me, and I walked into the bar. Instantly, I stopped, and eyed the bodies that lay scattered everywhere.

"Samus, what's the matter? Why'd you -" He stopped mid-sentence as he, too, realized that dead bodies littered the floor of the bar. "By the moons of Zebes…what _happened _here?" He breathed. I snorted.

"You know. Why are you playing this game with me? You know _perfectly _well what happened here." I snapped, sharply twisting around and looking at him accusingly from behind my visor. Kerlan looked sheepish for a moment.

"Yes. You are correct. I do know perfectly well what transpired here, but that doesn't mean you have passed the test yet." His face was now stern, almost apprehensive. He pointed back outside, and I followed his gaze.

"Out there you will find _It _waiting for you." He sat down on a barstool, calmly taking the glass of alcohol that was sitting there and sipping it.

_It_? I thought. That sounded familiar. It awoke memories, ones filled with dread. I searched further into my mind, probing the areas of my childhood. Then it dawned on me. _It_.

It was inevitable. I had known that this day would come; my Chozo father had even warned me of it. He had shown me the numerous ancient Chozo scriptures that declared that the Hatchling, once found and raised, must be pitted against _It_, a creature so hideous and dangerous that it had no name.

Hatchling, the Chozo called me. And yet, it was unofficial, until I could defeat _It_, and pass the test devised by the ancient ancestors of the Chozo. I recoiled from this thought, wincing inwardly.

Kerlan must have sensed my apprehension.

"Samus, if you truly are the Hatchling, you will battle _It_, and defeat _It_. If you are not the Hatchling…" He shrugged, simply trailing off.

"Thanks." I snapped, sarcasm literally dripping off of my words. Kerlan shrugged again. I knew he was trying to reassure me, but I didn't need reassurance. After all: I was Samus Aran, the bounty huntress who had defeated enemies that most had not even dared to dream of! Had I not defeated Ridley? Kraid? Mother Brain herself?

No. None of that mattered when fighting _It_. Even if I had been some worm-infested fool who had thrown away her life and murdered thousands of people, it would not matter to _It_. What mattered is that I was supposedly the Hatchling. My skill would not be taken into consideration; the worm-infested fool could easily defeat it if she was truly the Hatchling. However, something else worried me. Even if I was the Hatchling – as the Chozo probably had no doubt I was – I had also read in the ancient scriptures that they who defeat _It _must also pay a price that it requests upon its death.

Nothing else had been said about the price to be paid, only that it was great and terrible.

Even when I had battled Kraid, even right before I knew that I would come across Ridley, even when I had fought the furious battle against the Mother Brain, I had not felt this type of fear. A sense of impending doom. I would be tested beyond my limits, and, if I was worthy, I would be proved as the Hatchling. I took a deep breath and calmed my mind, as my Chozo instructors had taught me to do long ago.

_Breathe in, breathe out…_ A simple exercise, but an effective one. _Breath in, breath out…_ Prepare yourself for the battle to come… _Breathe in, breathe out…_

"No hurry, Samus. _It _will wait for you if it has to wait thousands of decacycles." Kerlan's voice shattered what little inner calm I had managed to amass. Instead of making the effort to threaten him about what would happen to his body parts should he speak to me again, I resisted the urge, knowing that I would need my strength when the time came. Unnecessary movements were a waste of energy.

"I truly believe in you, Samus. And so do the Chozo." Kerlan's voice had softened, as though he had sensed my innermost thoughts and feelings, "Otherwise, you would not be who you are today."

These words somehow reassured me.

Taking a deep breath, I took a step toward the door, feeling in my heart a glimmer of hope. And, however dim it was, I was glad for it.

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Meh. Not that great a chapter, I know. Not that long, either. It's mostly just Samus, and how she feels about the battle to come. If you're confused about what just happened, please feel free to ask me about it. :

Reviews appreciated! Remember, you get a _gold star _if you review! Review now and take advantage of this limited time offer! ;)


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